A Blessing for Wedding

Today when persimmons ripenToday when fox-kits come out of their den into snowToday when the spotted egg releases its wren songToday when the maple sets down its red leavesToday when windows keep their promise to openToday when fire keeps its promise to warmToday when someone you love has died or someone you never met has diedToday when someone you love has been born or someone you will not meet has been bornToday when rain leaps to the waiting of roots in their drynessToday when starlight bends to the roofs of the hungry and tiredToday when someone sits long inside his last sorrowToday when someone steps into the heat of her first embraceToday, let this light bless youWith these friends let it bless youWith snow-scent and lavender bless youLet the vow of this day keep itself wildly and whollySpoken and silent, surprise you inside your earsSleeping and waking, unfold itself inside your eyesLet its fierceness and tenderness hold youLet its vastness be undisguised in all your days

Author

Jane Hirshfield

Jane Hirshfield is the author of eight collections of poetry, includingThe Beauty: Poems (Alfred A. Knopf, 2015), which was long listed for the National Book Award. She served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 2012 to 2017.